The Ensign Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENSG), the parent company of the Ensign(TM) group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, hospice care and assisted living companies, reported an increase in total revenue for $132.9 million for the quarter, up 14.3% from the same quarter in 2008 and the consolidated net income for the quarter climbed 13.1% to $7.7 million, compared to $6.8 million the year before, with year-to-date net margins increasing to 6.0% from 5.7%. Ensign’s same-store average daily Medicare rate increased by 7.1% to $560 per patient day, an increase of $37 per patient day, as the company’s overall patient base continued shifting to a higher acuity mix according to its earnings release.
Ensign’s President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Christensen congratulated Ensign’s facility leaders and their teams. "This solid third quarter has provided a great platform for the continuing expansion of our business," he said.
As part of the company’s earnings release, Ensign announced that Gregory K. Stapley, its Vice President and General Counsel since 1999, has been named Executive Vice President of the Company effective as of November 2, 2009. He has been replaced by Beverly B. Wittekind as Vice President and General Counsel.
Ms. Wittekind has served as Ensign’s Corporate Compliance Officer, and as Vice-President and General Counsel for Ensign Facility Services, Inc., its Service Center subsidiary, since 2002. Prior to joining Ensign Ms. Wittekind was with Vista Hospital Systems, a non-profit hospital system based in Corona, California, where she served as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Vice-President of Risk and Litigation Management. A 1989 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School, Ms. Wittekind began her career at the law firm of Snell & Wilmer, and was a partner at Doyle Winthrop Oberbillig & West, both in Phoenix, Arizona, where she specialized in the defense of healthcare providers in medical malpractice litigation.
In addition, Daniel H. Walker was named Assistant Secretary of the Company, also effective November 2, 2009. Mr. Walker has served as the Deputy General Counsel of Ensign Facility Services, Inc., and as the Company’s Associate General Counsel for Securities, since 2007. Prior to joining Ensign, Mr. Walker was with the law firm of Lewis and Roca, LLP in Phoenix, Arizona, where he advised public and private companies on securities issues, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate and corporate transactions. Mr. Walker is a 2005 graduate of the J. Rueben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
